When He Met Gracelin
by LadySurvivor
Summary: The Eleventh Doctor and companions Amy Pond and Rory Williams happen upon London resident Gracelin Rosemary Celia Pacem. When they do, Gracelin's world gets a whole lot more interesting.
1. Chapter 1: Angel Flashmob

_**Author's Note: **And welcome! First chapter, first fanfiction, let's hope this doesn't crash and burn... For all I know, it might. I'm not prophetess. Anyway, ta for reading. Reviews are encouraged. Enjoy. :)_

**Chapter 1**

**Angel Flashmob**

"Pond, don't blink."

"Okay, saying that made me all the more anxious to blink," Amy Pond said to the Doctor. "Next time, think of something useful to say."

"Ah, now, you see, everything I say is helpful." He paused. "Mostly. If not now, sometime in the future. This piece of advice however, it is useful at this moment." The Doctor peered closer at the weeping angel in front of them. "Another piece of advice, don't look at their eyes. A very bad idea."

"Uh, Doctor," the voice of Rory Williams, Amy's husband came from behind them. "There's another one here."

"Okay. Good. Don't look away."

"Good? How is this good?" Amy practically screamed. "Being surrounded by two angels no where near the TARDIS isn't exactly what I would call 'good'. Rubbish description if I ever heard one."

"Come now, Pond. Use your head. It is better to have the angels out in the open where we can keep an eye on them than having them creep around behind us, about to send us to another time period. It's all about perspective."

"So now what?" Rory asked. They had planned to briefly drop in at present day London in order to relax for a day or two and catch up with some old acquaintances. Instead, when they got off the Underground at their destination, they were met by a lovely pair of weeping angels.

"What do we do? We run. Back up, towards my voice, keep your eyes on the angels. You can blink now. I can see them both. Good? Okay. We need to attract a crowd around them so that they won't be able to move for a while, letting us escape."

"What do you mean, attract a crowd? You have one! You are at an Underground station, after all."

"True, Pond, very true." He looked around and yelled out, "Hey, look! An angel flash mob!" The effect was instantaneous. Those travelers who were bored waiting for their trains or those who had simply come to people watch gathered around the two angels tossing coins and snapping pictures.

With the angels sufficiently trapped, surrounded by studious people, the Doctor, Amy and Rory made their escape. Once on the street, they headed toward a block of apartment buildings.

"Doctor, how long are the angels going to be held up?"

"Well, I would give us forty minutes at most. That's when the next train leaves and is when there are only a couple of people in the stations." Amy looked sick at learning the small amount of time they had.

"The TARDIS is half way across the city!"

"Yes." The Doctor's face was completely serious. "And now we have to find a way to get to it." He pulled out his sonic screw driver and pressed the button, waving it around. With a flick of his wrist, he expanded it and then studied it, all of this while walking. Suddenly, he ducked into the entry way to a building. Turning to look at his companions, the Doctor smiled. "Let's duck in here for a bit, yes?" Amy glanced at Rory and received a confused look matching her own. She shrugged and headed in after the Doctor. The lobby was brightly lit, with high ceilings making it appear larger and brighter than it actually was. The chandelier was dusty and cobwebs gathered in the corners. The tall windows were in need of a good wash. The red carpet was musty and worn, the gold gilt on the stair railing was flaking.

"Come along then!" The Doctor called, bounding up the stairs. Halfway up, he paused, then looked around.

"Doctor?" He shook his head.

"This is bad, Rory. Less time than I thought. The angels are on the move."

_**Post note: **And erm... That's it! Sorry it's short. I didn't realize while writing it up... And now it looks even shorter. But the next chapter will be much longer. Ta ta until then! Also, reviews are much appreciated. :)_


	2. Chapter 2: Angels and Omlets

**_Author's Note: _**_And welcome back, past readers, welcome anew to those readers who stumbled upon this humble little story. Here we are with the second chapter! I hope you enjoy it! Oh um, I forgot this last time, I don't own anything from the Doctor Who series except for everything you are not familiar with. And I apologize for any mistakes I make about life in London or in England in general. I've never visited or anything._ _:P_

**Chapter 2**

**Angels and Omlets**

The Doctor dashed up the stairs and turned right, running along the corridor, doors flashing by on both sides. Behind him, he could hear the footsteps of Amy and Rory. The Doctor came to a sudden stop in front of one of the indistinguishable doors on his left. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and unlocked it, then pushed it open and dashed in. "Quickly, quickly! In here!" Rory and Amy followed him in and he quickly sonicked the lock. Seeing something out of the corner of his eye, he spun around to face the room.

Against the far wall, a young lady stood, cowering. The Doctor beamed at here. "Why, hello! Sorry about," he looked around her small flat, noting the door that led out onto her balcony, "dropping in so unexpectedly." He had chosen the right side of the building, at least. Now the only thing that kept them from making their mistake was the lady standing in front of the door. He brought his hands together and started towards the stranger. She let out a shriek and shrank back even further. "Hello," he started again, waving, "I'm the Doctor. This is Amy and Rory. Sorry to drop in like this, but it is necessary. Pond, Rory, try and find me an egg beater and a cheese grater." His companions took off into the kitchen to do his bidding. The Doctor took another step forward. The stranger cringed.

"Nervous, twitchy little thing, aren't you?"

The stranger looked at him with her piercing blue eyes. They stared at him with a steady gaze out of her nervous, yet serious face, framed by long, curling, raven black hair. She licked her pale lips, her pale face betraying her nervousness to such a degree that the Doctor felt like he was confronting a trapped animal, an experience he didn't feel like reliving. She licked her lips again, eyes darting around the room, taking in her surroundings and the appearance of the Doctor. She crouched down, making her already diminutive size even smaller. She licked her lips yet again.

"A bow tie? Really?"

The Doctor's hands sprung to his bow tie, straightening it. "What? It's a bow tie. Bow ties are cool." He smoothed it out again, glancing at her. A ghost of a smile passed over her face and the Doctor beamed at her. She had a sense of humor at least. "I'm -"

"Yes, yes, I know, you're the Doctor and the two you sent off to raid my kitchen are Amy and Rory. The red-headed Scot is Amy, and the stupid looking one trailing after her is Rory."

"Ah!" the Doctor exclaimed, clapping his hands in delight. "Now you're getting it! And who are you?" He leaned toward her, peering at her face closely.

The young woman stood up to her full height, which wasn't very tall or impressive, and held her chin at a stubborn angle. "I," she started in a dignified voice, "am Gracelin Rosemary Celia Pacem. I am 19-years-old and am a black belt, to have you know," she finished, trembling a little.

The Doctor turned his face to the left and looked at her out of the corner of his eye, hands held to his mouth. "Which martial art are you a black belt in?" he asked, sounding genuinely interested.

"All of them" she said too quickly, eyes widening. The Doctor fixed her in his gaze and after a few moments, released her. He turned and glanced at the door, nervously, it appeared to Gracelin.

"Now, Gracelin Rosemary Celia Pacem. That's quite a mouthful. However," he said turning back to her and holding his hands in front of his chest in a stopping gesture, "it's great. A really great name." He was looking around the flat again. "In hurried, rushed, time-is-of-the-essence, life-or-death situations, I can't possibly call out "Gracelin Rosemary Celia Pacem, go smash that mirror' - for instance - before a Dalek kills you. Or me." he turned is eyes towards her again. "So, what should I call you?"

Gracelin opened her mouth to answer, but just then, Amy entered the room again, looking at a manual egg beater. "Doctor," she said, "we couldn't find a cheese grater but she has pre-grated cheese in her refrigerator. Will that do..." She trailed off, looking at the way the Doctor and the young woman stared at each other.

"Amy," the Doctor said, breaking his gaze with Gracelin and turning it to his friend, "pre-grated will do fine. Now, go heat up a sauce pan and get out some eggs."

Amy looked suspicious. "Why, Doctor? Are you going to make scrambled eggs?" He laughed an came forward, then put his hands on her shoulders.

"Little Amelia Pond, silly, silly. I'm not making scrambled eggs. I"m rubbish at making those." He gave a little laugh and patted her cheek. He turned back to Gracelin and held out his hand. "However, I do make a delicious omelet."

Gracelin let the Doctor take her by the hand and drag her into her kitchen where he proceeded to bang around in the cupboards, acting like he was at home. In a few minutes, each of them had a steaming omelet on a plate in front of them. The Doctor looked at the other three expectantly and they looked back at him. "Well?" he said. "Eat up!"

Even though she had seen him prepare the food with her own eyes, Gracelin still glared at him suspiciously as she took her first bite. The next moment, she found herself in heaven, the flavor exploding on her tongue. She dug in, eating with enthusiasm as Amy and Rory did around her. The Doctor laughed.

"That's what I thought!" He hadn't made an omelet for himself and contented himself with studying the room as his companions finished their meal.

Amy finished swallowing her last bite, savoring the last bite of flavor before she spoke. "Doctor, what are we doing about the angels? We've wasted too much time here as it is and the angels were closing in fast."

"Ah, now that is a question that has to be answered, but not now." The Doctor leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. "Not all questions have to be answered at once. Some are better left unanswered until further notice, and others yet cannot be answered, under any circumstance, ever.

"However, the questions you two have regarding the identity of our gracious, if not voluntary, host can, and will, be answered. Rory, Amy, may I introduce Gracelin Rosemary Celia Pace, the 19-year-old black belt of every martial art known to humans? Gracelin Rosemary Celia, may I properly introduce Ms. Amelia Pond," Amy waved, "and Mr. Rory Williams." Rory gave a nervous smile. "Formally, I am the Doctor. No one calls me anything else, except River calls me 'sweetie' and I do happen to get the occasional 'get-off-of-this-planet'..." he paused, looking pensive. Then he shook his head. "But I'm not even sure if that's a proper name. Speaking of names, what should I call you, Ms. Pacem?"

"Well, all of my friends call me Rose. They think it's a much prettier name than anything else they could get out of my mess of a name." She looked startled when the Doctor visibly stiffened.

"No," he said in a strange voice, "definitely not Rose." He then muttered something that sounded to Amy to include the world 'guilt'.

"Why not Rose?" Amy asked, curious. Not much could get the Doctor act the way he did when the name Rose was said.

The Doctor turned to look at Amy, infinite and ancient sadness in his eyes, his face looking older than she's ever seen it. It scared her than he was hiding feelings like that without her, his closest friend, seeing it. He turned to look at Gracelin Rosemary Celia. "So," he continued, a sad tone in his voice that wasn't there before, "not Rose. What should I call you?"

Gracelin was startled at this sudden change in the Doctor, For the whole 20 minutes she had known him, he had been happy-go-lucky, all smiles and enthusiasm. But now he was anything but smiley. "Er... you could... call me by my first name, Gracelin."

"No, no, not Gracelin. I prefer one syllable. Amy becomes Pond, and I call Rory Daft." Amy smiled and punch his arm.

"You do not!"

"Ow! Yes, you're right. I don't. Oh, um, how about, er, I know! Lin! Eh?" He smiled at her, though it did not quite reach his eyes. By the way he leaned forward, Gracelin could tell he was interested by this puzzle, but couldn't tell if it was genuine. She looked closely at his face, debating how much hurt would register on his face, and if she would feel guilty for shooting down his idea. Finally, she shook her head.

"No, too asian. I don't tend to look too kindly on my mum."

"She's asian? Ah, yes, I can see it in the eyes. Okay then, how about Grace?" Gracelin tilted her head, seriously considering it. It was short, simple, and had a nice ring to it. It was new, she hadn't heard it before, but glaringly obvious now that she thought about it. She looked the Doctor in the eye and nodded. "Perfect!" the Doctor said, clapping his hands together. "Grace it is!"

"But, Doctor, when are you actually going to have to call me Grace? When is there going to be a high stakes, life-or-death situation we will both be in?"

"Right now," he answered as the front door to Gracelin's flat rattled. "The angels are here. Rory, go and make sure the door is well secured. Now, you two, go out onto the balcony and wait for me there." He took out his sonic screwdriver. "There's something I have to do."

_**Post Note: **And there is the end of the second chapter. This story has only just started! I hope you all enjoyed it. I'll hopefully post more chapters soon. Still have a lot to go over before the end. :) Until next time! Reviews are appreciated and spreading word of my story around the community awards you with a cookie! :) (Note: You'll have to make it yourself.)_


	3. Chapter 3: Being Clever

**_Author's Note:_** _Hi! Welcome to the third chapter! This is really cool. :) THREE FOLLOWERS. For the win. :P More notes after the chapter. Anyway, don't own anything from the BBC Doctor Who series, just my OC Gracelin Rosemary Celia Pacem._**  
**

**Chapter 3**

**Being Clever**

Amy stood out on the balcony of Grace's flat. "What a view," she said to Rory. "Could we get a place with this view?"

"Yeah, um," Rory shot a glance at the front door. "Whatever you want, Amy. As long as we get out of here alive." The door rattled again. "Where did the Doctor get to?" It had been several minutes since the Time Lord disappeared off on his own. Since then, Rory and Amy had washed the dishes, secured the door and then went onto the balcony to wait. Gracelin was still in her flat, nervously straightening up, unable to quite grasp the concept of deadly stone statues being alive and trying to break into her flat. Suddenly, the Doctor exited the bedroom.

"Time to go! No time to waste, deadly angels are after us."

"We weren't the ones taking our time doing whatever it is you do."

"Yes," he said smiling, "but you aren't clever enough to do what I do nor are you clever enough to help me." He strode toward the balcony. "Therefore, we are at a point where you have to wait for me." He learned against the railing. "I'm just too clever for you." Gracelin joined the other three out on the balcony.

"The question is whether you are clever enough to get us out of this flat, preferably before we are completely ripped to shreds or killed or what ever these angel things do."

"Send you back in time but yes. Time to go."

"Doctor, you do have a plan to get us out of here, right?" Amy asked, sounding alarmed.

"Yes, of course, Pond. I'm clever, aren't I?" He looked to the left, then to the right. Behind him, the door rattled louder. He then looked below to they alley way. "Okay, can't go left or right along the balconies. They would catch up too fast, other flat doors won't be as secure as I made this one." He looked down again. "That leaves only one option." He grabbed Amy around the waist.

"Hey, hey, that's my fiance!"

"What are you going to do?" Amy demanded. The Doctor lifter her up. She gasped and her eyes flew open. "Don't you dare!" The Doctor flung her over the railing into the alley below.

'No!" Rory rushed to the railing looking over. "That was my fiance! This is the second story! She could be seriously injured." He spun around, face to face with the Doctor. "Did you just seriously injure my fiance?" he shouted.

"In my defense, I planned it perfectly." He picked Rory up. "Go see if she's okay!" The Doctor flung the man over. That done, he turned at last to Gracelin. She backed up against the wall, as far away from the balcony as she could possibly get.

"Come on," the Doctor called, holding his hand out to her. "You're the last one." Gracelin shook her head. "Grace, it's either the drop or the angels. One or the other." The door rattled behind Gracelin. She gave a squeak of fright and shot glance over her shoulder. Her eyes found the Doctor's again. The door rattled even harder. "It's your choice." Gracelin looked back one more time then ran to the Doctor. He grabbed her around the waist then tossed her over.

Behind him, there was a loud crack. The Doctor spun around. The angels had gotten in. He backed up, reaching his hands behind him, feeling for the rail. He found it. Now he had only to hope that he was in the right place. A little to either side, it wasn't going to end pretty. Two angels were frozen in the doorway. The Doctor shrugged and hoisted himself up onto the railing.

"Geronimo."

He jumped backwards, falling through the air.

_**Post Note:** Aa! Jumping! No landing! Not yet anyway! :D I know this was a short chapter and I do apologize. I honestly didn't realize. But longer ones in the future! Thanks to seasidewriter1 and grapejuice101 for review. More thanks to them for favoriting. Many thanks to seasidewriter1, Secret Addiciton 136, and stateofadaydream723 for following! :) I do this for you! Please review._


	4. Chapter 4: Welcome to the TARDIS

**_Author's Note: _**_Yes! Another chapter the same day. Why they aren't one chapter? No idea. But this one is nice and long. Enjoy! (Don't own anything Doctor Who except for my OC Gracelin Rosemary Celia Pacem!)_

**Chapter 4**

**Welcome to the TARDIS**

Amy was on the ground, standing in the alley. She saw the Doctor back up, climb onto the railing. She could hear him say a single word, though she had no idea what it could be.

She also saw him jump.

At the sight of the Doctor leaping backwards, falling through space, long limbs flailing about for some sort of purchase on the air, a terrible scream tore out of her throat. "Doctor!" He wasn't going to make it, he was too far over to the side when he jumped. He was going to hit the rim of the dumpster instead of the soft, foam contents.

Then, an amazing sight. Gracelin started running down the alley toward the dumpster, and leaved into the air a meter or two away from the side. She met the Doctor in the air and grabbed him by the waist, her trajectory along with their combined weight allowed for them both to sail right into the dumpster with minimal damage.

"Oh my God!" Rory exclaimed. He and Amy ran towards the dumpster and arrived in time to see Gracelin struggle from the sea of foam. The Doctor was on his back in the middle of the container, just lying there with his eyes closed.

"He's alright," Gracelin said, grimacing as she rolled her shoulder. "It is foam, after all." As she finished speaking, the Doctor sat up and then began to work his way to the side where Amy and Rory were.

"Well, that was fun and exciting." He smiled at them all. "Time for phase two. Getting to the TARDIS." Amy and Rory nodded but Gracelin just looked confused.

"The TARDIS? What the heck is a TARDIS?"

"Talk while we run. The angels are still after us." He boosted Gracelin out to be helped down by Rory, then jumped out himself. He started toward one end of the alley. "This way."

The Doctor walked at a brisk pace, glancing around all the time. Gracelin trailed after, eyes wide, darting every where, taking in everything. Amy and Rory followed holding hands and trying to keep up with the Doctor. Silence fell over the group for the first few minutes of their journey back to the TARDIS, all of them too anxious after their close call to do anything more than glance around nervously. Finally, the Doctor broke the silence.

"You wanted to know what a TARDIS is," he said, addressing Gracelin. "It stands for time and relative dimension in space. Basically, a machine that gives a being access to the whole of time and space. Yes, you heard correctly," he glared at Gracelin, responding to the disbelieving noise she made. "Pretty cool sounding, isn't it?"

"Wait until you see it," advised Rory. "It will be even harder to believe than this stuff. It has a swimming pool in the living room. It used to be in the library." Amy hit his arm.

"The whole of the TARDIS to talk about, and you choose the swimming pool? Doctor, never use him as your pamphlet writer. The library is amazing. Books in every language that you can imagine and some that you can't. First editions of Sherlock Holmes, signed by Arthur Conan Doyle himself. A facsimile copy of one of Agatha Christie's books reprinted in the year 5,000,000,000. Rows and rows of books shelves.

"There are whole rooms filled with alien technology that does everything form causing something to be dissembled into atoms, to sensing when it's time to flip a pancake. There is so much to learn on the TARDIS, so much to gain and discover. And all you could talk about was the swimming pool."

"Now, now. Don't fight like an old married couple. You are only a _young_ _engaged_ couple." The Doctor stopped in front of a 1960's era police box. "Here we are!" Gracelin peered around him at the box.

"Is this secretly a lift that will take us below ground to the TARDIS?

"Gracelin Rosemary Celia, this _is_ the TARDIS." The Doctor stood to the side and snapped his fingers, eagerly watching the face of Gracelin for her reaction when she saw the inside of the TARDIS.

The door swung open, revealing the control room. A large open room with lights in the domed walls, leading up to where they met at the top. A raised platform in the middle held the console, where all the actual flying of the TARDIS took place. A large assortment of gadgets were there, all looking as if a madman picked them out of a junk yard and stuck them randomly onto tables that circled around a cylinder. Underneath the platform was access to the wiring of the TARDIS, should anything go wrong, complete with a swing to sit on. A balcony curved along part of the wall, arches leading further into the depth of the ship. Steps led up to a door beside it and more steps lead down to a door that certainly led to a maze of corridors and rooms. Gracelin stood staring at the orange, brightly lit room with all of its glass surfaces, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer insanity of the design. She longed to scream to anyone who would listen about how this wasn't possible, they must be playing a trick on her, how there was no way all of _this_ could fit into a police box. But she didn't have the words, the time, nor the breath.

"It's bigger inside than it is outside."

"Yes, it is. Now stop blocking the door way. The angels are coming and they're not going to wait politely for you to get over your gawking." The Doctor propelled her inside and got to work on the console while Amy collapsed on a couch set on the platform. Rory disappeared through one of the doorways. Gracelin still stood in front of the doorway, gaping at the impossibility of the TARDIS.

"It's bigger on the inside," she said intelligently.

"Yeah. I've heard it all. You tend to hear about every possible thing when you live for 907 years," the Doctor said, flipping levers, pushing buttons, and running in circles working the controls. Gracelin focused on him.

"You're 907," she said flatly. The Doctor looked at her and smiled. Gracelin ran her hand over her face as Rory entered the room again. "I think I need to lie down," she mumbled.

"Go through the door Rory just came in, 13th door on the left." Gracelin got up and dragged her feet up the stairs and into the room the Doctor mentioned. She was so overwhelmed that she didn't have much emotion left. Due to this fact, she didn't show any surprise at the bunk bed against one wall, all made up, a desk against the other, a low lamp and the tools necessary to write a letter on it. She just stumbled over to the lower bunk, and collapsed onto it face first. As she drifted off to sleep in order to give her brain a deserving rest, she thought, _What in the world have I been dragged into?_

_**Post Note: **Yeah, so that's the end. New chapter soon. Please review/follow/favorite. :)  
_


	5. Chapter 5: Midnight Meetings

**_Author's Note:_**_Yay! Another chapter! In this one, we get to know Gracelin a little bit more. :) She is still a mystery to all of us. Please R and R. Also, thanks to everyone for commenting, following, and favoriting! :D_**  
**

**Chapter 5**

**Midnight Meetings**

Gracelin yawned and rubber her eyes. She had no idea what time it was; there weren't any clocks on the TARDIS as far as she could tell. Of course, she wasn't sure clocks would do any good on a time machine. Especially one that could travel anywhere in the universe. Different time zones and everything. She grabbed the blanket from the bed, purple and gold stripes, good colors, and wrapped it around her. She shuffled out of her dark room into the hallway, squinting against the sudden light. Slowly, she headed back along the hallway to the Control Room. She stood in the doorway looking down on the Doctor, still flipping switches and pressing buttons.

She stood there at the top of the stairs for a few moments, looking down upon this stranger who had stolen her away from her life. Soon, however, her legs got sore and she felt faint. So Gracelin walked down three steps then sat. There, she continued her silence, studying the movements of the Doctor. They were funny, not quite coordinated but perfectly timed. he got to where he wanted to go at the time he wanted, but he stumbled and slid on the glass floor as he was circling around and around the console.

"So, are you ever going to speak to me?" Gracelin was startled. Since when had the Doctor known she was there? "I had so hoped you would be interesting. After all, you didn't freak out too much when I threw you off, over the balcony."

"What are weeping angels?" The Doctor looked up.

"Ah, now we're getting to the interesting." He flipped one more lever then walked over and sat on the steps next to Gracelin. "You ask about the weeping angels. Would you believe me if I told you they came from another planet?" Gracelin looked around her, then back at the Doctor pointedly. "Er, yeah. Well, they come from another planet. You cannot destroy them, you cannot out run them. They move unimaginably fast. You can't let them touch you. If you do, you're lost."

Gracelin's brow crinkled. "Lost? How do you mean? Shouldn't they kill you if they're evil aliens who can't be destroyed?"

"In a way, they do kill you. If they touch you, you will be transported to another time period, a random one. Last time I got touched, I was stranded in 1969 without the TARDIS. Had to get one of the people in the future to send it back to me. Very difficult. Took her forever to piece it all together."  
"But then how did we get away from them alive? I mean, in this time period?"

"There is one way to avoid getting caught. One thing that will save you. When any living creature looks at them, they cannot move. That's why they keep their hands out their eyes, they can't risk looking at each other."

"So the only way to escape is -"

"Look at them, don't blink, don't look away. If you do, you're gone."

"Sounds easy as pie," Gracelin grumbled.

"Hah! Sarcasm! Haven't head that in ages! Does wonders for the soul." Gracelin didn't smile. The Doctor sighed internally. She would have to start coming out of her prickly hedgehog skin or else she wouldn't last long traveling with him. She had to be able to trust him. "So, what you're -"

"Nineteen. Yes, I'm young. No, I don't need any help to get along. I can cope by myself. At least, until you came along, dragging these angel creatures after you."

"So defensive! What caused you to build such armor for yourself?"

"My parents died."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." The tone of his voice clued Gracelin into how much he felt for her. She smiled wryly.

"That's what they all say. I was seven. They died in a car accident. Instantaneous. Never got to say good-bye." The way she said it, as if she was reciting from a history book, the lack of emotion in her voice, that out of it all made him feel the worst for her. To him, it was a wonder she still had the ability to feel any emotion other than anger, hate, sadness, and loneliness. Her situation growing up was just too harsh. "But what can you do. That's past is past." She looked into the Doctor's eyes. "I've learned to live. I've learned to defend myself. I've learned to move on." She looked away and put her chin on her knees. Even though she was still and silent, the Doctor could just feel how much she was hurting inside, even if she herself wasn't aware of it.

So she sat there, swaddled in her blanket, seeming to try to take up as little space as possible, both in the physical sense, and inside of herself. The Doctor quietly sat beside her, not touching. She wouldn't accept that, it would just drive her away. Instead, he helped her as much as he could. He stayed with her so she could be a little less lonely.

Gracelin had no idea how long she sat there, the Doctor keeping silent vigil by her side. But at one point she fell asleep again. She only woke when Ay and Rory entered the control room. She found herself at the edge of the platform, lying on her back, her blanket covering her, a pillow under her head.

"Hello," Amy said to her, smiling. Gracelin nodded in response, sitting up. Rory came over and helped her to her feet, asking, "Did you sleep okay? Tell me you didn't sleep out here all night." Gracelin shook her head. She bent down and folded her blanket, then picked up her pillow. She laid them carefully in a corner of the room.

"So!" The Doctor flipped a switch with a flourish. "Where do you want to go?"

"The beach!" Amy said enthusiastically. "We haven't relaxed in ages. Just gone off and protected the universe. Running away from intergalactic monsters is just a bonus," she added to Gracelin. Gracelin smiled a small smile without meaning it, then turned back to pulling her hair into a ponytail.

"Rory? Any opinion?" Rory contemplated for a moment then shook his head. "Gracelin?"

"Home." The Doctor smiled apologetically at her.

"Not possible. The angels will still be lurking, and they will be searching for you too. You're associated with me now." He smiled at her, a true one.

"And this is something to smile about?" The Doctor nodded, still smiling. "I can't believe you," Gracelin spat. "First you burst into my flat, scaring the wits out of me. Then you take me from my flat and away from my life." Amy grabbed her arm, attempting to soothe the young girl, but she was shaken off. "Let go of me!" Gracelin ran past the Doctor, standing at the controls where he had been before she started her outburst, down the stairs, then into the lower corridor. Amy made to follow her but the Doctor stopped her with a shake of his head.

"Let her go. She'll need time alone to cool off. She is young, she is overwhelmed, and I did take her from her life and home against her will." He turned back to the console. "No matter how strong she appears, she is hurting." Amy stood, looking after where Gracelin had gone, then turned and sat next to Rory. The Doctor continued to stand, looking down onto the console, not moving.

Everything Gracelin had said was true: he had burst into her flat, then dragged her out of it by her ear. He forced her to get on the TARDIS, never thinking for a moment that she might want to stay behind, hide somewhere else. He closed his eyes and sighed. How would he fix this mistake? How could she start trying to get her closer to the normal emotional state of a nineteen-year-old female human? The Doctor rubbed his forehead and just stood there. How to solve this problem?


	6. Chapter 6: A Day and a Night of Findings

**_Author's Note:_**_ Welcome back! This is the 6th chapter and it's mainly a filler. I don't like it too much, but it contains an important bit or two... Don't hate me for putting out this horrid chapter. Can't do anything about it. Not too sure about the title either... Thanks to everyone for viewing, favoriting, following, and commenting. I don't own anything from the Doctor Who series, and nothing from this series except for Gracelin Rosemary Celia Pacem. Enjoy! Please R and R. :D_**  
**

**Chapter 6**

**A Day and a Night of Findings**

It was six hours since Gracelin had yelled at them all, then lost herself in the depth of the TARDIS. In order to let her calm down, the Doctor and Rory followed Amy's wishes and went to the beach. They spent hours jumping the waves and playing in the sand. Amy even buried Rory as he was sleeping. Now they were all tired and hot and back in the TARDIS, drunk on the sun and the wine the Doctor had brought. Gracelin was still no where to be found, a fact that bothered the Doctor enormously. It had been hours since she's disappeared. Was she lost or something?

"Well, Doctor," Amy drawled, stumbling around, "I'm off to bed." She turned and tripped up the stairs, falling and catching herself every other step. As she entered the corridor finally, a large crash emanated from behind the door. Rory looked around then back at the Doctor. He gestured over his shoulder.

"I'm uh, just going to make sure she gets to bed alright." He trailed off, looking awkward. The Doctor smiled kindly at him.

"It's alright. Go on to bed. I have stuff to do." He turned to look at the controls. Rory stood there, looking at the Doctor. He worried about his friend, from the set of his shoulders to the way his head hung low to the fact his eyes had this distracted look in them all day. Something was clearly worrying him.

Finally, Rory turned and followed his fiance to their bedroom. Behind him, the Doctor still stood here, head bowed, shoulders bent, worrying away the evening.

Hours later, the Doctor parked the TARDIS for the night and went off to his room. Gracelin saw him go and waited a few minutes. When she was sure he had gone to bed, she snuck into the control room and went up to the dashboard. She swung the screen around to her and stared into the blank blackness. Gracelin had no idea how to work the TARDIS. She eventually sighed and sat on a seat on the edge of the platform.

In all truthfulness, she felt really bad about her outburst. She had nothing going for her in her old life, it was actually a relief for her when those three had burst into her flat. She liked the TARDIS, there was so much to discover on it. She had spent all day in the library just walking through the shelves and trailing her fingers over the spines. The Doctor's collection of books was really something. A lot were from other planets, others were from the future. Just for fun, she took a book from the shelf, one where the language just looked like the scribbles of a toddler drawing with his toes. She wad flipped it open, and then discovered that it was in english. She looked again at the cover and saw the title was 'One Hundred Sites to See on Gregorial'. Somehow, the book had translated into the language Gracelin read as she was holding it. She had quickly put it back on the shelf. Then she pulled another book at random. She frowned.

This book was a history about the year 2011 on planet Earth and as far as she could tell, had never been opened. Why get a book if you're never going to read it? She opened it. Right off, it was clear that it wasn't a book by people on Earth. The author kept mentioning all these races Gracelin had never heard of. She scanned the table of contents and saw something that sort of alarmed her and interested her at the same time. "The Fall of Silence at Lake Silencio". The 'Fall of Silence'? How on earth could silence fall so completely that some inter-galactic historian needed to put it in his Earth history book? She turned to page 211 and started reading.

By the end of the chapter, Gracelin was wide eyed. She put the book back on the shelf and made it look as if it had never been moved. Then she had exited the library. That was how she had ended up back in the control room. She still felt bad, more so than she had hours earlier when she first walked into the library. The discovery of the 2011 history had changed everything. She decided then that she would apologize to the Doctor in the morning.

Gracelin collected her pillow and blanket from where she had stored them earlier, then curled up under the stairs and fell asleep. Maybe she would even make them her French toast. All of her friends at home in London told her it was amazing, some of the best food they had ever had.

That night, Gracelin dreamed. That in of itself wasn't uncommon, she often had dreams. The fact that made this night so notable was _what_ she dreamed. Normally, her dreams consisted of car crashed, screams, and occasionally, a golden wood with a river rushing through it. But this night, her dreams were different.

Firstly, they were different in the respect that there were living people. Gracelin had never reamed of the living before, death was far too familiar to her. Not only had her parents died, but her mother's only brother and his wife while sailing. A storm had come up and tossed their boat on some rocks. She hadn't even talked to them in years. Then they just weren't there anymore. In addition to losing all of her family - both sets of grandparents were dead, her father was an only child and no cousins - her two best friends in the world had died. They were the only friends she ever had. One night, they were biking back to their flat (they shared with Gracelin) after picking up groceries, when a drunk driver swerved right into them. Unlike with her parents, their deaths weren't instantaneous. They had time to suffer, to lie in pain with their life's blood seeping on to the pavement beneath them. For his credit, the driver stopped and called the paramedics. They died on the way to the hospital. Again, Gracelin didn't get to say good-bye. That had been a year ago. Gracelin still missed them.

Secondly, these living people were talking with distinctly American accents. All of them. That could only mean one thing. That her dream took place in America. She had never been there. That fact brought her to the last thing that was strange. If she had never been to America, how could she dream of this lake surrounded by mountains so clearly? These red cabins with such a picture like quality? The sound of music drifted over the big, plain field, coming from a collection of what looked like gardening sheds. The scene only lasted a few seconds, then she was returned to her world of car crashes, deaths, and no good-byes.

_**Post Note:** Yes yes, not my best. I agree. But, now Gracelin knows what happens at Lake Silencio April 22, 2011 at 5:02 pm. That is an important tidbit. As is her dream. :D Please review and pass on the word. Enjoy life!_


	7. Chapter 7: Elephants Play PacMan

**_Author's_****_ Note: _**_Hi. Sorry for the long wait. As I'm typing this chapter up for posting, it occurs to me that it doesn't have much in it. I apologize, I'll try and get chapter 8 posted soon. I have it written, just need to type it. :o Well, quick note, men, boys, creature of the male gender, please don't get offended during this chapter. I needed a way for Amy to get Rory up and the way I used just sort of jumped to mind. I apologize if I hurt one of your feelings. Anyway, don't own anything Doctor Who (except for my awesome TARDIS water bottle!) so, you know, Steven Moffat, please don't sue me. :P_**  
**

**Chapter 7**

**Elephants Play Pac-Man**

Amy woke up gradually, coming to one sense at a time. First was touch, as often is. She could feel how warm she was under her blankets. She was aware of her soft hair against her cheek. She could also feel the headache pounding against her temples. Next came hearing. The sound of her groans of pain, the sound of her fiance's breathing, coming from above her. Finally, she opened her eyes, coming fully awake. Above her, she could see the top bunk of the bunk bed the Doctor insisted upon having in their room. The top bunk was currently occupied by her fiance.

Silently, Amy got up and got dressed. She eased out into the hallway, trying not to wake Rory. She then turned and walked down the hallway to the control room. She was hungry, but first she had to pass through the main room to be connected to the right wing of the TARDIS. Also, the Doctor would most likely be awake and manning the controls. She wanted to check in with him on whether he had talked to Gracelin since she had gone to bed the day before. She knew that first night, after she and Rory had gone to sleep, Gracelin had talked to him, alone and in the middle of the night. Amy had no idea what they had talked about, but she did know the Doctor came away from that meeting knowing more about the young girl they had brought along on their travels.

Amy opened the door and looked upon the room, noting the absence of the Doctor from his usual place, standing at the console. She then heard fabric rustling beneath her and looked down, seeing a small form cloaked in fabric through the glass landing. Gracelin's hair was spread across the pillow, the glossy, thick locks making a shimmering curtain. With every breath, Gracelin's chest rose and fell, making the blankets move incrementally. Suddenly, how young Gracelin was hit Amy. How could they even think about bringing one so young on a journey so dangerous? How could they risk the life of a mere _girl_ who had so much ahead of her? It was absolute madness. Now she could understand part of why Gracelin had yelled at them before.

Amy turned and walked over to the entrance to the other wing quietly. She would talk to the girl when she woke up. Get to know this mysterious Gracelin Rosemary Celia Pacem. But for now, she would let Gracelin sleep. Amy was currently too hungry to think about anything other thank making herself some bread and jam. She moved down the hallway to the kitchen. In there, lo and behold, was the Doctor, sitting over a cup of tea.

"Morning," Amy yawned, walking over to the cupboard.

"Good morning, Amelia. How did you sleep?"

"Well enough." Having gotten her bread and jam, Amy sat down across from the Doctor. "So," she said, taking a bite, "have you talked to our travel partner recently?" The Doctor shook his head.

"Not a word. Haven't seen her awake since she stormed out yesterday." The Doctor smiled kindly. "However, I'm sure she's forgiven us. There is no need to worry." Amy sighed in relief.

"Okay, Doctor, what's in store for today?"

"Now, you see, that is an interesting question. We went where you wanted yesterday, who's turn is it today?" The Doctor looked closely at Amy. "What do you think?" Amy looked back straight on.

"I know that today, before we go anywhere, I have to talk to Gracelin. After all, what she said was true. We dragged her out of her life and into this one. I'm surprised she doesn't hate all of us." The Doctor nodded.

"Yes, I did think that last night. So, maybe she should decide where to go today. What do you think?" he asked, turning to the door where Gracelin walked in, rubbing her eyes.

"I think some one walks like a blind, drunk elephant with uneven legs," Gracelin grumbled, glaring at Amy. Amy smiled apologetically as Gracelin got herself a glass of juice. The Doctor beamed at her.

"Alway one for a spot of humor!" He smiled even wider as Gracelin glowered at him. "So, returning to our earlier topic, fair Gracelin, where o you wish to go today?"

"Home," came her short reply. She looked steadily at the Doctor over the top of her juice glass. The Doctor frowned and brought his hands together twiddling his thumbs nervously.

"Ah, yes, well," he started, "I was afraid we'd hit this little snag." Gracelin raised her eye brows and the Doctor hurried on. "What I mean is that, well, you, erm, would have extreme difficulty returning there."

"Why." Voice cold, Gracelin didn't make it a question as much as a demand. The Doctor by now looked even more awkward than was usual. All of his fingers did little dances of their own. Amy looked on, trying to her her amusement that that a mere child like Gracelin could make the Doctor, the man who had faced down countless aliens, so nervous.

"Well, there are still angels about back there, and I donmphatuleeceome..." The Doctor trailed off, words becoming indistinct sounds. Both Amy and Gracelin stared at him confused.

"What?" Gracelin asked. The Doctor sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Amy," he said, eyes closed, "could you go wake Rory? He should have been up a while ago." Amy rose slowly, knowing the Doctor was just politely trying to get her out of the room. By the alarmed look Gracelin had on her face, she saw through the actions of the Doctor too. "Amelia Pond." The Doctor didn't sound angry at all, just tired and sad. Respecting the Doctor

s wishes, Amy walked out into the corridor and walked away. She paused for a moment and debated listening at the doorway, but then decided against it. Amy trusted the Doctor and his judgement. If he didn't want her to hear something, she would do as he said and go wake up her fiance.

A couple of minutes later, Amy strode into her and Rory's room. "Oi, Rory," she shouted, "get up now if you want to make it in time to get the last piece of toast. You won't get anything else until lunch." Rory immediately sat straight up; always trust men to fear for their stomachs.

"Wha-?" Rory blinked in confusion. "What's going on?" Amy went and sat on the small sofa against one wall.

"The Doctor is having a private talk with Gracelin. He sent me to wake you so I would leave the room." Rory still looked disoriented so Amy took pity on him. "Breakfast is in 15 minutes," she said, using a phrase even half dead men would understand.

"Wonderful," Rory groaned, the he started to descend from the top bunk. "I'll be there." Amy walked out as her fiance got ready for the day. She gave the Doctor plenty of time to finish his talk with Gracelin. But in 15 minutes, she would walk in to the kitchen whether they were done or not. Until then, she would play Pac-Man in the arcade.

_**Post Note: **So, that's the end. More about the past of the mysterious Gracelin in the next chapter. Then a bit of action. :P If you find fault with my writing in any way (such as characterization (the bane of my existence)) please comment and let me know. I'll work on it. If you love my writing and my story, comment and say so! If you are just dropping in, comment and say hello! I welcome comments and feed back. Thanks for follows and favorites!_


	8. Chapter 8: We're Going to London!

**_Author's_****_ Note: _**_Agh! Sorry for the long wait. I've just been super busy/lazy and haven't had the chapter typed up as soon as I would have hoped. But here it is! It's not my favorite and pretty much nothing happens in it. It's a filler and it's the lead up to my first original Doctor adventure. I know there is going to be at least one more. Have it all planned out in my head. :) Also, while you have all been eagerly awaiting this disappointment of a chapter, I have decided what is gong to happen in the long run (in vague terms) to Gracelin. When I told seasidewriter1, apparently she was really excited. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!_

_If I owned the Doctor Who franchise or whatever it's called, don't you think I would have met Matt Smith by now?_

**Chapter 8**

**We're Going to London!**

After Amy left, Gracelin looked at the man who called himself the Doctor in alarm. What did he have to stay to her that Amy Pond, the Doctor's companion, couldn't hear? The Doctor sighed, startling Gracelin badly.

"Gracelin." The Doctor's kind eyes looked at Gracelin. "You can't go home yet. I am sorry." From his tone, Gracelin could tell he meant every word he said. "Not only are the angels probably still around, looking for me or you, but the problem is also with your flat." Gracelin stiffened. Her flat? What was wrong with her flat? Could the Doctor tell she was struggling to pay the rent? Then she remembered. Her bedroom. The Doctor had gone into her bedroom.

After her friends and flatmates had died, Gracelin couldn't bear the thought of packing up their stuff and continuing to live in their flat as if they were never there. She had considered moving flats, but decided she wouldn't be able to leave the place she and they had lived. So Gracelin had left her flat the way it had been, with their stuff set up, positioned just as they had liked it. Their parents had tearfully allowed Gracelin to hang onto their daughters' possessions - they had said Gracelin was very important in their lives and as good as family so she had as much claim to it as did the parents. So it was a year later that Gracelin's bedroom, which had been the three girls' shared room, still had their decorations, clothes, and books just as they had left them.

"The problem with your flat," the Doctor continued, oblivious to the fact Gracelin had just had a major brain wave as to the topic of their current conversation, "is that it is too empty." The Doctor looked at her kindly. "When I first met you, I went into your bedroom, fully intending to do something very clever in order to slow down the angels. Instead, I saw a young girl's room filled with memories of her past.

"There were three beds in there, all were made, all with personal belongings and decorations, but only one of them had been slept in recently, only one area was being lived in." The Doctor pointed at her. "It was yours. The other two beds clearly belonged to the very best friends you ever had. The only problem was that everything was dusty, nothing had been touched in ages. All of the cinema tickets were for movies that had been out of the cinema for almost a year, there weren't any recently released books. It was as if those two areas had been frozen in time." Gracelin tried to swallow past the lump in her throat, to blink back the tears that were threatening to spill over. She felt a warm hand covering hers on the table. Her bottom lip trembled. "Gracelin," came the Doctor's soft voice, "I don't want you to have to live alone." Finally, Gracelin gave into the tears, letting them stream down her face as sobs wracked her thin frame. Soon after, she stopped the tears and dried her eyes. She looked at the Doctor, his kind eyes that displayed thousands of emotions, his floppy fringe, square chin, tweed jacket, button up shirt and his silly bow-tie. _Thank you,_ she wanted to say, _thank you for rescuing me from that life._ But she didn't. She gently slid her hand from under the Doctor's and brought her glass to the sink.

"I decided where I want to go," she said, voice only slightly watery. She turned and faced her new friend. She smiled slightly. "Can we go to the Olympics?" The Doctor laughed.

"Just saying The Olympics' doesn't give much clue to where you want to go. By your time, the Olympics had been going on for ages, ever since the Greeks, bless them." The Doctor smiled, looking wistful for a moment. "Anyway, which Olympics? We may not be able to go to the one you want to go to," he warned. "The results might be too revealing about the future." But Gracelin wasn't really listening. She was too excited about going to the Olympics. She had always wanted to go to a game ever since she had first caught a glimpse of the athletes on the telly.

"Take me to one where we can watch the whole thing." Gracelin smiled. "This will be fun." Rory walked in yawning, hair still wet from his shower.

"Morning," he said, heading to the counter." Where's my toast?" He looked around blankly for a moment, then his eyes widened. "You are kidding me!" he exclaimed. "From the woman I'm going to marry? Come on!" Fuming, Rory started banging around in the cupboards, getting the ingredients for cereal. Gracelin looked at him bemused. Then Amy walked in. Rory spun to look at her. "Get up or no breakfast? Get the last piece of toast now? Really Amy?" Amy smiled at him pleasantly.

"Com on, stupid head, I only said that to get you up." Amy smiled sweetly at Rory who was glaring at her while the Doctor and Gracelin laughed.

"Well, eat up," said the Doctor, standing up. "Big day ahead, going to the Olympic Games." He beamed at Gracelin. "Isn't that so?" Gracelin gave a small smile back. "And I know just the year!" He looked at them all. "2012, a year of champions! And hosted in the home town of our very own Gracelin Rosemary Celia Pacem! Ladies and Rory, we're going to London!"

_**Post Note: **That's the end. As I told you, nothing happens. I don't like this chapter. But as an apology, I hope to get Chapter 9 (which is all written!) up sometime this week! Please comment and share with all your friends. I do like readers and feed back. :)_


	9. Chapter 9: To Claim Their Own

**_Author's Note: _**_See! I got it out only a couple of days later! Really, I hope you like this chapter. It's the first part of my first original Doctor adventure, and I like where it's going as I'm writing. I'll admit, this chapter in not very well written. But if you have any comments or suggestions, **please leave a review**! They make me smile like a fool and help me feel better in my super stressful life. Enjoy this chapter!_

_I do not own any of the Doctor Who stuff, only this adventure (minus the aliens and the Olympics and the Queen) and Gracelin._

**Chapter 9**

**To Claim Their Own**

The Doctor stuck his head out the door of the TARDIS. "Ah, yes, we're here!" He stepped out and gestured grandly around him. "Welcome to the 2012 summer Olympics!" Amy stuck her head out and looked, then her body followed.

"Doctor, this is a back alley." Rory stepped out and Gracelin glanced around tentatively. The Doctor brought his hands together.

"Ah, well, yes. _This_ is a back alley. However, around the corner is Olympic Stadium! It's in the middle of the opening ceremonies," he said, glancing up at the sky. "Any moment now, ah, yes." He pointed. "There!" Amy, Rory and Gracelin looked up, following where the Doctor was pointing. There was a helicopter flying, and then a small form jumped out. After a moment of falling, a parachute flew out behind it. The figure floated down gently behind the building.

"That is the Queen." Gracelin's eyes widened.

"You mean, the Queen of England parachutes into the Olympics." The Doctor smiled and nodded. "Wow!"

"So, Doctor, where to first?"

"Where ever you'd like," he replied, putting a pause in between every word, replying to Amy just as he had when she had first journey on the TARDIS. He smiled at Gracelin. "So, first real trip in the TARDIS. What do you think?" Just seeing the look of awe in Gracelin's eyes made this trip worth it to the Doctor. He had really wanted to make Gracelin happy; she had too much sorrow in her life, proportionally more than even the Doctor.

"This is unbelievable." Graclin was still looking around, taking the time travel quite well for the first time. She turned shining eyes to the Doctor. "Thank you." The Doctor beamed at her.

"Of course." He started striding down the alley way and stopped when he reached the outlet at the street. "Now," he said as the others came running behind him, "we let the fun begin."

A week more or less after the opening ceremonies, the Doctor, Amy, Rory and Gracelin were still enjoying the Games. Thanks to the Doctor's psychic paper, they were able to get into any even they wanted. Currently, they were watching track and field, Gracelin's choice. Amy thought it really showed what a child Gracelin was, as she was positively jumping up and down with contained energy. Rory thought it was entertaining and the Doctor smiled to himself.

Gracelin sat in her seat, bouncing from excitement as she watched the runners take their places. Margaret, one of her old flatmates, had been part of their school's track team. Even though she herself had never been a brilliant runner, Gracelin had gone to every single meet to cheer on her friend. She still liked watching it in honor of her. The starting gun fired and off the runners went! Since it was the women's 400 m, it was over in less than a minute, the winner an American.

The Doctor smiled, watching Gracelin jump to her feet and scream with the rest of the crowd. It was obvious to their whole group that she wasn't there to see any country or person win in particular, but just to watch the races and enjoy the atmosphere. He was just about to ask if any of them wanted a water bottle - he had seen a boy selling them, passing just a moment ago - when he saw something in his peripheral vision. A figure approached the track, unnoticed by any of the officials.

It was short, with almost conical, brown head with no hair, sticking out the top of a silver suit of armor. It carried a matching helmet under it's arm, the metal glinting in the light. It had three fingers. The Doctor frowned. This looked like a people he had encountered before, back in one of his past regenerations, faced them down with Donna Noble and Martha Jones and that guy who had his own private school... The figure pulled out a gun and fired it into the air.

The sound reverberated around the stadium, sounding much like a starting pistol. Some of the runners, still setting up blocks, lurched forward, thinking the race was starting. However, they quickly stopped, realizing the stadium was silent. Absolutely silent. After the shot had been fired, all the spectators stopped talking, cheering, shifting in their seats. No one made any noise. Then the Sontaran started to speak.

"Humans of the Earth!" he boomed. "Stop your silly play and listen to the words I speak now." His voice was grumpy sounding, something like a smoker shouting, very strained. "For these words may mean your life. The Sontarans have come to claim their own!" The Doctor looked over to the side at his friends. Rory looked shocked and scared, Amy looked confused, and Gracelin looked like she was looking at a pack of hell hounds. Her usually pale face was as white as piece of paper, looking very small and young framed by her black hair. As he watched, she licked her bloodless lips, an action he was starting to recognize as one she did out of nerves or in high stress situations.

"Now, I must insist," continued the lone figure on the track, "that all humans surrender now. And then we may let some of you live." All the people in the stadium erupted into chaos at once, trying to get out or to call their loved ones, some no doubt trying to call the police. The Doctor glanced around quickly, cameras everywhere. People all ver the world were watching this, also the Sontarans would've landed every major city on the planet, just to show who was in charge.

Figures armed and armored figures ran onto the track, surrounding the lone Sontaran, guns at the ready. "Sir," came the voice of the lead soldier, "we insist that you put down your weapon and surrender to us. You are out numbered and we have you surrounded." The Sontaran started laughing, startling everyone around him.

"Surrender? You people have no idea who you are facing. We are the Sontarans! We run from no battle! We stand and fight." Quick as a flash, the alien had his gun out and started shooting. More Sontarans appeared and added to the havoc.

Some of the humans valued the lives greater than freedom and handed themselves over, they were herded into one area of the arena. All others were screaming and fleeing the stadium. only the Doctor and his friends were staying where they were.

Thoughts were racing through the Doctor's head. Sontaran: fighting people, never surrendered. Weak spot: back of the neck, literally had to face their enemies in battle, couldn't run away. A clone species, all had the same genetics. They need the right planet and conditions in order to breed more. They had been in a war with another race for thousands of years. Now, 'to claim their own'. The only thing he could think of as to what they were alluding to with that statement was when they had attempted to use the Earth as new breeding grounds in order to get more soldiers. So what to do? They had guns, his group didn't have anything. The Doctor glanced back at the three people he had dragged into this mess. Amy stood there, looking determined and terrified, her usual look when facing aliens. Rory looked terrified and confused, his typical expression any time of the day or night. Young Gracelin was as pale as ever, licking her lips, and looking... determined.

The Doctor frowned. Why would this young girl be so determined facing intergalactic soldiers? As he watched, she widened her stance and brought her hands up into a specific position. His mind flashed back to when they first met.

_"Which martial art do you have a black belt in?"_

_ "All of them."_

Gracelin, he thought, what will you do next?


	10. Chapter 10: Into the Fighting

**_Author's Note: _**_Hi everyone. Sorry for the super long wait. It's getting colder where I live and my fingers are stiff on the keyboard. Also, I have been so overloaded with stuff to do that I have barely had time to sleep let alone read or write. Don't expect anymore chapters this month. It's NaNoWriMo in America and I'm using it to really force myself to crank out the second original adventure Doctor and Co. has. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, followed, and whatever else you can do on this awesome site! YOU GUYS ROCK MY SOCKS! Please read and review. :)_

_I do not own anything Doctor Who. If I did, I would totally be married to the eleventh Doctor right now. 3_

**Chapter 10**

**Into the Fighting**

Gracelin, the Doctor thought, watching her assume a fighting stature, what will you do next? Now that he thought back on all of their short acquaintance, he realized Gracelin had never appeared scared. Nervous, yes. Trapped, yes. But never scared. Not terrified. Even when she was trapped on the balcony by the angels, she was always calculating, always considering, never stopping or getting paralyzed by fear.

Gracelin made a move to go confront the Sontarans who were shooting the soldiers down on the ground.

"Gracelin!" called the Doctor. "Gracelin, they are a fighting people, no retreating or surrendering. They respect powerful warriors." Gracelin glanced at him, poised to jump down.

"Any weaknesses?" She licked her lips.

"Back of the neck, there's a little disk that they use to breathe and feed. Just hit that and they'll be knocked out." She frowned.

"Knocking them out won't be enough." Her eyes were hard as they looked at him. "I guess I'll just have to hit harder." Gracelin gave a quick smile then went into motion.

She stepped onto the back of the seat in front of her. There, she paused for a moment, surveying the scene that was unfolding below her. Amy looked at Gracelin, confused, not certain about what she was about to do. "Gracelin?" she questioned, reaching out with a hand to touch the younger girl's arm. Just as Amy was about to grab her wrist, Gracelin leaped.

All the way down the stands, she stepped from seat back to seat back, as good as running. Gracelin heard Amy call after her, surprise and anxiety in her tone. The nineteen-year-old reached the first row of chairs in what seemed like no time at all. She barely paused as she leapt off the stands into the air, then did a flip and landed on the ground in a crouch, 4 feet below where she jumped.

Up in the stands, the Doctor watched his newest companion make the leap and land. Then, after a moment, she started running to the battle. He felt sad that there was such a young person needing to be so proficient at violence. And that she needed to use it where he couldn't do anything. Because he couldn't do anything.

This was a straight out invasion; no tricks, no gas, no way he could help the occupants of Earth. At least, not with out hand on hand violence. And he had no expertise in that area. Movement to his left startled him out of his thoughts. Amy had stood up and was hefting a glass bottle in her hand, left behind by its fleeing owner.

"Pond, what are you doing?" the Doctor inquired, brow furrowed. Amy looked over, astonishment and determination in her face.

"You can't expect to leave Gracelin to knock all of those weird looking aliens out by herself." She looked to the bottle as she took an experimental swing. "Back of the neck, yeah?" Then she was off to join her new friend on the track.

Rory watched his fiancé run down the stairs with a look of stupefaction on his face. He slowly tuned to look at the Doctor.

"Why can't she think about this? She has a **glass bottle** and those other guys have **guns**." He sighed, then picked up a bottle himself and went down the stairs to join Amy and Gracelin. The Doctor breathed deeply and turned his eyes to where he could see Gracelin fighting.

She was like to a whirl wind, her long braid flying out behind her. Her limbs made precise movements and already there were fallen Sontarans piling around her. Even from his place far up in the stands, the Doctor could hear the warriors shouting compliments and death threats at her as they shot their guns. She felled another with a deft movement of her arm. From behind her, a shot rang and she ducked, easily evading it. She then turned and struck down the Sontaran who had been foolish enough to fire at her. Over and over, the Sontarans pulled the trigger. Over and over, Gracelin dodged and smacked the back of their necks as hard as possible. The bodies kept piling around her, forcing her to stay in one place while more and more aliens gathered around her, shouting comments. However, as well as she was doing, she was only human and she had to slow down at some point. Even as he watched, the Doctor could tell that Gracelin's movements were getting slower and more sluggish. She was still dodging the shots, but each time, they got closer to hitting her. Eventually, one would find its mark. The guns never got tired or ran out of energy. The Sontarans could keep going.

The Doctor perked up. The guns. They were the problem. As he watched, Amy almost got hit. The human soldiers were all dead, their guns not working as the copper casing of the bullets had expanded inside the chamber thanks to Sontaran technology. But what if the same thing happened to the invaders? What if their weapons stopped working? The Doctor could do that.

He jumped to his feet, pulling his sonic screwdriver out of his inside jacket pocket. It was about as large as one of those slightly oversized pens and many times more deadly. At one end was a little green bulb, at the other, a dial. The screwdriver itself had a black contoured gip in the middle and white and bronze casing. The Doctor expanded the sonic, opening the display, and turned the dial, searching for the right setting. Once he found it, he snapped the sonic closed and started running down the stairs. Time to end this fight before anyone got hurt.

When he reached the bottom, the Doctor nearly tripped over the barrier. "Whoops," he muttered, sweeping his hair back from his face. He made sure all the settings on the sonic were correct, aimed it, and pressed the button.

Nothing.

He looked at the sonic, frowning. "Come on, why now?" He peered more closely, running his fingers along the smooth metal. "Why aren't you working?" He hit it against his palm a few times then tried again. The same result. He groaned in frustration, then a cry made him look up.

Amy and Rory were cornered against the wall. Somewhere, Amy had picked up a board of wood which she was using to attempt to fend off the Sontarans and hit their weak spot. Rory had acquired a Sontaran gun and was desperately trying to figure out how to work it. Six meters away, Gracelin was holding her left arm, blood dripping from under her fingers onto the abandoned track. The Sontarans were still crowded around her, giving a roar of victory, knowing their target was about to fall.

They surged in, burying her in the mass until the Doctor couldn't see her anymore. He hit the screwdriver against his palm, harder and faster, thinking about why the guns might be impervious to the effects of his sonic. Suddenly, the first two rows of the invaders surrounding Gracelin were blown back. In the center of the circle stood Gracelin, her eyes glowing so brightly, they looked white to the Doctor.

She was just standing there, back straight, arms outstretched, palms facing out. Blood was dripping onto the ground. Her face was calm, if smeared with her own lifeblood, but her eyes. They were glowing with a fire, a cold cold fire. The look of them reminded the Doctor of every cold place he's been, every bad thing he had witnessed, all the pain he had experienced, and everything he felt guilty about. He shivered, wanting to tear his eyes away from the horrible sight, but couldn't. What he witnessed next was just as terrible.

Gracelin strode over to the closest Sontaran and put her finger to his chest. Then she poked him. He flew three meters backwards, into the two Sontarans behind him. She then struck out behind her, killing the aliens were were trying to sneak up on her. Within three minutes, she had taken down all of the Sontarans that were around her, punching, kicking, elbowing, poking, flicking. Then she moved on to help Amy and Rory. Though they had managed to knock out a few of their enemies, they were in trouble. Having given up on the gun part of the gun, Rory was now using the weapon as a club. Amy was forced to drop the board as the Doctor watched. Then Gracelin swept in and knocked out all of the attackers. Easy as pie. At the end, Gracelin stood up straight, arms out, palms facing away. Her eyes returned to their normal blue and her arms returned to her sides. The Doctor jumped down and ran toward his group of friends. So when Gracelin collapsed, the Doctor was there to catch her.


	11. Chapter 11: What He Had To Do

**_Author's_****_ Note: _**_Hi! I'm not dead! I apologize so very much for making you all wait this long until this chapter. I've been swamped with work and have successfully watched _Snowmen_ and have gotten ideas for that episode already. I also watched _Psych_ and _Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion_. I've started the pre-planning for a _Sherlock_, a _Mistborn_, and a _Code Geass_fan fiction (is there an 's' there?) Also, this chapter is really long and required more editing than I am hoping the length of the chapter makes up for the time it's been since last time. I've only barely started writing chapter 12 so it will probably be a while until then. I'm hoping I'll be able to post the first chapter to my _Harry Potter_ fan fiction before then. If not, please don't hunt me down. I haven't written very much of that either. Anyway, I'm very much in the mindset of _Code Geass_. Well, have fun with this chapter! It was entertaining to write. And sorry for Gracelin's character being all over the place. She hasn't stabilized as much as I would like yet. Enjoy! Please review/comment. It makes me smile every time. :)_**  
**

_I own nothing except for Gracelin Rosemary Celia Pacem and the story of this chapter. Everything else belongs to their rightful owner(s)._

**Chapter 11**

**What He Had To Do**

Just as he reached her, Gracelin collapsed. The Doctor caught her in his arms and set her down gently. She lay there, eyes closed, hair fanned around her face, limbs bent under her as Amy and Rory rushed forward.

"Doctor, is she okay?" Amy asked, worry etched on her face. Rory knelt beside Gracelin and started examining her. The Doctor took his sonic from his pocket, set the mode, and scanned the girl in front of him. After studying the display a moment, he looked at Amy and smiled.

"Perfectly alright. She just fell unconscious. She should come around soon." Amy looked at him incredulously.

"She just got _shot_. And you're saying she's alright?"

"Well, you know, she will be. Once we bandage the wound." He proceeded to take a piece of gauze from his pocket along with a strip of clean cloth and bound Gracelin's injury. Rory sat back on his heels grumbling.

"Yeah, she will. But I'm just here to be an accessory to the oh so clever Doctor, aren't I."

"You'll always be important to me," Amy said, ruffling his hair. She stopped as Gracelin opened her eyes.

"What's going on?" Her voice was weak and her eyes blinked a lot as she started to sit up. "How did I get here?" She trailed off, looking around as Rory gently forced her back into a horizontal position.

"Everything's fine. You just went unconscious for a moment there."

"But the Sontarans. What happened to them?" She was looking sideways into the face of a knocked out Sontaran. Then she turned her head to look at Rory, then the Doctor. Her blue eyes were wide. "I remember fighting them... I couldn't have... Did I... Was this _me_?" The Doctor looked at her gravely then nodded once. "Oh..." Gracelin closed her eyes and screwed up her face. Even so, the Doctor could see tears trying to be released. "I, er, see." She took a deep, shuddering breath and opened her eyes. "I'm, sorry." She made to sit up again and Rory made a noise in his throat as he reached forward.

"No, no, I'm fine." Gracelin waved him off and stood up. "Oh." She stumbled." I'm alright, _alright_," she repeated, shaking off Amy's hand. "Just a bit dizzy."

"There's also the small matter of you getting shot," Amy murmured to Rory. He nodded in agreement.

Gracelin revolved on the spot, taking in all the destruction and bodies. At the end she closed her eyes and took another deep breath. "I'm sorry," she whispered, soft enough so that no one could hear.

"I'm ready. It's time to send these Sontarans back to where they came from." She paused, then turned and looked at the Doctor. "How do we do that?"

"Like this." He smiled and walked over to the nearest Sontaran and studied a device on it's back. "Huh. Mobile transports. They've improved their technology since I've last seen them." He then adjusted some settings on the sonic and stood back up. "Okay then. Everyone, grab a Sontaran!" They all gaped at him. "What?" he said, offended. "Don't look at me as if I just sprouted another head. Grab a Sontaran then buddy up!" He went over to an alien and grabbed it's hand. He motioned for the others to do the same. Feeling self conscious and still a bit dizzy, Gracelin walked to the Doctor, gripped his arm, and wrapped her hand around a Sontaran's hand.

She felt really guilty about knocking out and possibly killing all of these aliens, even though they were trying to take over her home. It disturbed her that she had this much destructive force in her. While she had learned and mastered all the martial arts she could, fighting was never truly her. She was more the talk it out type. But it was no use regretting her actions now. There was nothing she could do about it. She chose, instead, to focus on the present where Rory and Amy were clutching each other's hands and a Sontaran a piece right next to the Doctor and Gracelin.

"Okay," Rory said. "Now what?"

The Doctor held up his right arm, the arm Gracelin was holding, and showed their group his sonic screwdriver. "Now, I press this," he pressed the button on the screwdriver, "and we end up here." He released his Sontaran, stood, and pulled Gracelin to her feet. He kept holding her hand as Amy and Rory also stood up, a fact that Gracelin was hyper aware of. To distract herself from the warmth of her hand in his, she looked at her new surroundings.

No longer were they in London on the track, or even on Earth. They were on a giant ship in space. She could see her home planet out the large windows to her left, on the other side of the Doctor. The room they were standing in was very large, long enough that she had trouble seeing the other end. The ceiling was all shadows above the lights. All the surfaces were a dark, dull grey, everything was metal. There were no pieces of furniture, only boxes of food and what looked like guns, and a few containers of medical supplies. It was obviously a place where a lot of the aliens worked daily, for about ten Sontarans were paused in the middle of some job, looking at all their fallen comrades and the four human figures standing in the middle of them.

"Now, the thing about Sontarans is that they have great respect for great warriors," said the Doctor, nodding at Gracelin, "so they might complement your skills as they're attempting to blow your head off." By this time, the Sontarans they had surprised had snapped out of their shock and surrounded the foursome, guns ready to fire.

"Who did this to our fellow soldiers!" one demanded.

"Who dare invade our ship," yelled another.

The Doctor smiled at them. "This is Amy, Rory, and Gracelin. I'm the Doctor." Mutters of rage broke out at this proclamation.

"So, Doctor, are you the one who took down all of our men?" questioned the first Sontaran.

"Oh, no no no. You know me. Strictly no violence. No. It was Gracelin here who did it." All the guns swung to point at her. Gracelin glanced at the Doctor, alarmed. He only smiled at her encouragingly. She gave a tiny wave to the hostile aliens.

"We are impressed at your show of strength! We acknowledge your skill. Now, we will kill you gloriously in the heat of battle!"

"Oh, no. We aren't here for a battle. We're here to kindly ask you to leave this planet. It's a level 5 planet and strictly a no if you're trying to invade it."

"The Shadow Proclamation has no hold over the glorious Sontaran empire."

"No, but I do." The Doctor smiled, and this time it looked menacing. "So I must request you leave orbit immediately and go along on your merry way."

"Or what?"

"Or else you'll regret you were ever cloned."

"Your threats do not scare us! We are Sontarans!"

"Quite so," said the Doctor, fingering his sonic. "And what does the mighty Sontaran race want with planet Earth?"

"Breeding grounds."

"Huh. Broken record. That's what you are. They tried this once before," the Doctor said to Gracelin. "Didn't work then either." He raised his voice so the aliens could hear. "So what makes you think you will achieve it this time?"

"We are not relying on a teenage male to get everything into place."

"Still a bad idea. Really. Leave or else I'll make you."

"We refuse."

"Too bad then. I really regret doing this." The Doctor pushed Gracelin ahead of him and pulled Amy and Rory behind. Gracelin stumbled, the pain in her arm making her head pound. She started running as fast as she could when she heard shouts of surprise and outrage coming from the Sontarans. Then they left them behind.

The four of them were racing to the exit at the end of the room.

"Close the doors!" came a shout from behind. To Gracelin's horror, the door up ahead was slowly being lowered, each creak it made had a sound of finality. The young woman pumped her arms, driving her legs down, willing herself to go faster as she ignored the pain.

"Oh no you don't," she muttered, determined to catch the door before it closed. By the time Gracelin reached it, there was less than a meter gap between it and the floor. Thinking quickly, Gracelin crouch down and wedged herself underneath, bracing her hands on the bottom. She grit her teeth and worked at keeping the door from crushing her, adrenaline making her stronger. Her companions drew closer. Her arm screamed in pain.

"Quickly," she gasped as Amy, then Rory crawled under. The Doctor crouched in front of her.

"As soon as I'm through, release the door. Rory and I will pull you through." She gave a tight nod, then watched the Doctor go under the door. A moment later, he tapped her on the back and she let go of the crushing metal weight. Arms wrapped around her waist and hands grabbed her upper arms, working together to drag her from under the closing door.

"Whew, that was close," said the Doctor, dusting himself off. "Gracelin, how's your arm? Manageable? Everyone catch their breath? Off we go!" He started jogging down the dim corridor, passing numerous closed doors on either side. Without comment, Rory helped Gracelin to her feet and the three companions started off after the retreating form of their guide.

They managed to catch up when the Doctor paused at a crossway. He kept point the sonic down each path, trying to find the way to where he wanted to go. He pushed his hand through his hair, frustrated that his high functioning brain was not coming up with any clues as to where his destination might be. He smacked his hand against the cold metal wall and groaned at the idiocy of his problem.

"Sent the Atraxi off the world with a speech, sucked millions of Daleks and Cybermen into the void without breaking a sweat, return 27 planets to their right time and place in the universe no problem, but I can't find a _room_. What is wrong with this picture?" He brought his palm to his forehead with a loud sound. "Stupid! Think, think. Why isn't there a map? A map. That's what we need!"

"And there will just happen to be a visitor's stand handing out copies of the floor plan, saying, 'Go ahead! Ruin our plan! Here's a map to aid you!'" Gracelin said sarcastically, pain and weariness making her irate. That's not going to happen."

The Doctor's face fell. "No, I suppose you're right. But what am I missing? I must be missing _something_." He started pacing back and forth across the open space of the cross. Amy and Gracelin watched the Doctor's movements while Rory closed his eyes and slumped against the wall.

"Oh no. I'm going to die in the depth of this alien space ship and no one will find my body," he groaned. "This is not my ideal way to die." Silence fell again as the Doctor continued thinking. Suddenly, it was broken by Amy.

"The floor!" she exclaimed. "Doctor, the floor has marking on it." She was grinning.

"What? Floor?" The Doctor looked down. He was standing on the Sontaran word for 'control'. "Brilliant!" He beamed at them. "Come along, Pond, Rory, Grace. Let's go crash this party!" All four of them started jogging down the hall, new energy flowing through their limbs. They were about to save their world and send the Sontarans back home. They were almost there. Just a few more steps. Gracelin could see the doors, just 2 meters away. Out of nowhere, 25 Sontarans surrounded them, all guns aimed at Gracelin.

"This wasn't in the plan." The Doctor frowned. He took out his sonic screwdriver and looked at it as if it could explain the unexpected ambush. "Huh. Lucky I finally figured out the right setting." he pressed the button on his device, a high pitched hum filling the air. The sound of cracking emanated from the hostile aliens' weapons and they fell apart right in their wielders' hands. The Sontarans looked at all the parts of the guns in shock. Then they dropped them and flung themselves at the invaders.

Gracelin fell into a defensive stance even though she was feeling weary. Amy clung to Rory's arm and he stood straight, puffed out his chest, and tried to look less scared than he clearly was. More Sontarans trooped out of the control room, doubling the ring around the foursome.

"Nope. Nuh uh. No more fighting for today!" the Doctor called, grabbing Rory by the arm and Gracelin by the back of her dark shirt. He then proceeded to back them all up, ducking through the enemy ranks ad straight into the control room. The door shut and locked behind them.

"So!" he said loudly, spinning on his heel to survey the room. "Your basic Sontaran fleet ship. We want to beam all the Sontarans on Earth back to their ship. Look for the teleport control panel."

"Doctor, over here," called Amy, standing by a gleaming block of buttons. "I think this is it."

"Brilliant, Pond," said the Doctor, walking across the room. "Now, it should be..." he pressed a button. "This one." Gracelin looked at a screen.

"A bunch more life signs just appeared on the ship." Pounding on the door made them all look at the portal to the room. Distantly, Gracelin was reminded of the first time, when they burst into her flat. It seemed so long ago. But there was no balcony and no soft landing this time.

"Well, now, sounds like it's about time for us to leave." The Time Lord stepped over to another panel of controls. He manipulated several lever, bashed in a final button and turned to face his friends. "Well this is it, isn't it?" he asked smiling. "Teleports after this one are all dead locked. Time to make our great escape and save the Earth yet again. Come along." The Doctor motioned them over to him. "Grab a hand everyone. I don't feel like tracking one of you down in New Zealand. This makes it easier to stay together." He brought out his sonic screwdriver as the others complied with his request. Pointing it at a distant switch, the Doctor activated it and a second later, they were all back at Olympic Stadium in London.

"Okay, what just happened?" Rory demanded as the Doctor started toward the exit. "Doctor?" He kept walking away from them until he disappeared from sight.

"Do you think he's okay?" Amy asked, looking worried.

Gracelin looked after the spot where the Doctor vanished. The way he was going, it would bring him to the TARDIS. "He sort of has to be," she replied. The young woman turned to look at the other two. "He's the Doctor, isn't he?" Her attention was called back to where the Doctor had gone as the threesome heard the TARDIS engines. Rory sighed and scuffed the ground with his toe.

"Now what? Our ride just left."

Amy jumped the barrier and sat in the first row of seats. "Now we wait. Wait until the Raggedy Man comes back." Gracelin wondered at the undertone in her voice, but then eventually joined her traveling companions on the bench.

The Doctor slammed the break of the TARDIS down. He was so mad, a new experience - he hardly every got angry let alone as pissed off as he was now.

What else could he have done?

He flung himself down into a jump seat and glared at the ceiling.

How could he have avoided it?

He couldn't have.

Maybe he could have talked them out of it.

He had tried before. That group hadn't listened, this lot wouldn't either.

But maybe he could have let them off with a stern warning, several threats...

No. They were a fighting people. They wouldn't give up.

But still, he didn't have to blow them all up.

The Doctor swore at the dart board by the exit, then retreated further into the TARDIS. He had forced himself to watch what he had done. Soon he would return to London and his friends, but for now, he would go learn about hydropower or something else as equally human and equally useless to him.

Gracelin perked up as the TARDIS materialized in the middle of the stadium. She nudged Amy and Rory, both of whom had dozed off during the five hours they had waited for the Doctor. She ran over and was there to knock on the door the second before it opened. The Time Lord opened the door and blinked as he looked into the young woman's beaming face.

"I knew you would come back! I don't believe you would have just left us here, out of our time." The Doctor gave a small, tired smile. His young friend seemed really happy even after all that had happened that day.

"Well, that's me," he said, making his voice sound much cheerier than he felt. "The man who always comes back." He stepped aside to allow Gracelin, Amy and Rory into the TARDIS. "Never mind, that's a rubbish title," he amended a moment later while closing the door. "Don't call me that."

"For the man who always comes back, you sure do take your time," Amy yawned.

"How long did you wait this time?"

"Five hours," Rory answered. "What make you take off like that?"

"At least it wasn't twelve years instead of five minutes," the Doctor replied, making on as if he hadn't heard the second part of what Rory said. Gracelin didn't miss this fact and filed it away for later investigation.

"So where had you gone?" Apparently Amy hadn't missed it either.

The Doctor groaned inwardly and the spun away from the controls to face Amy. "Oh, you know, big giant scary invasion from Sontarans, have to go report it in to the Shadow Proclamation. This is a level 5 planet, you know."

"Shadow Proclamation?"

"Space police. They create intergalactic rules and regulations for all the travelers, such as us."

"So you went there?"

"Yup. Reported it. Everything is brilliant." He couldn't look at them. The lies hurt too much. He focused on piloting the TARDIS in order to get his emotions under control. But he had to see if they were accepting his excuse.

He looked up into the large cylinder at the center of the console. In the reflection, Gracelin stared straight back at him, smile gone, suspicion in her eyes.


	12. Chapter 12: Tough Decisions

_**Author's Note: **Hi. Yes, yes, I know I'm awful for not posting anything for millions of years. I was working on fan fictions, though. And work. That's important. Right? On the bright side, I'm back with a new chapter of When He Met Gracelin. I also have a couple of episodes in series 6 and 7 written (help me) and the Code Geass fan fiction I have been working on is nearly done with the character planning stage and starting to go into the plot layout stage. I would tell you all this sooner so you aren't left hanging for months, but I have no way of doing it. I'm thinking about doing a blog sort of thing so I can keep you up to date with what's going on without writing a full out chapter? Thoughts?_

_As always THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO READS AND REVIEWS! It always brightens my dark days of conformity to know that I am (hopefully) bringing entertainment (or something that resembles it at least a *little*) to a large group of people. Please, pass it on to your friends! I have millions of ideas of where I want this to go and for chapters in the future (I'm not joking - literally millions). Stay tuned! Please read and comment. Tell me what you love/hate/fan girled over/thought I did well/thought I screwed up/etc. Enjoy! ;)_

_If I owned any of this stuff, don't you think I would have a room of writers (or the Moffat himself) to get these things out to you quicker?_

**Chapter 12**

**Tough Decisions**

The Doctor leaned against the door frame to Gracelin's room. She was sitting on her bed, still in the ripped, bloody, dirty clothes she had saved the world in.

"I see you don't care if you're wearing seeing as you're still wearing that." The young woman glanced up, startled out of a deep thought. She looked down at herself.

"Guess I didn't think about it," she said vaguely. She continued to sit there.

"I came in to check on you." The Doctor started walking to the bed. "You did get shot today."

"I suppose I did." Gracelin absentmindedly held her arm out to the Doctor for him to look at. He pulled a first aid kit out of his pocket and set it next to him. He then gently lifted her arm and cut away the blood soaked cloth - all dried by now - and looked at her skin.

All around the area was covered with dry blood. He certainly hoped it wasn't as bad as it looked to be. He got out some gauze and water and started cleaning the gore off.

"Where did you go earlier?" The Doctor kept wiping her arm as he answered.

"I went to the Shadow Proclamation, as I said before." She turned her eyes to his. For a moment, they looked as if they matched his in age.

"Stop lying. Tell me the truth." He stopped moving. He had a choice here. Keep with his false story or tell the truth. he knew the answer. He opened his mouth to tell Gracelin the same story, but then he thought about it. She finally seemed like she was coming out of her carefully constructed shell and was starting to trust him. Some how, she could tell he was lying. If he did it again even after she called him out on it, he could damage their relationship and reverse what progress she had made. So he went with the only real choice he ever had.

"I had to watch." He slumped on the bed next to his friend. "I had to watch what I did."

"Ah. I see." Gracelin fell silent, absentmindedly folding and unfolding her hands in her lap. After a minute to check his emotions, the Doctor resumed cleaning.

"What you did today was really brave." Gracelin bit her lip and wrung her hands faster. "I mean, first real adventure, not bad. Next time, though, try not to get hurt." He smiled at her. "I don't want you getting hurt. It makes me worried." He looked back down at what his hands were doing, missing the blush that flooded Gracelin's cheeks.

When he had finished cleaning the blood, the Doctor looked more closely. That wasn't right. There was no bullet hole. There was a small scar where the was looking, but that looked to be years old. But all that blood couldn't have come from nowhere. Anyway, he saw the Sontaran shoot her. So why wasn't there a fresh wound? He finished dressing it, then wound a clean bandage around her arm. She didn't need to know about this supposed ability to heal until he knew more about it himself. In the meantime, it just meant she didn't have to deal with injuries.

"There you are. Good as new. You shouldn't over use that arm for a while, though." Gracelin nodded, still thinking about something else. "I'll leave you to it, then." He got up and turned to head out the door, then paused and looked back at Gracelin. She was sitting on her bed, eyes wide, looking at something only she could see. Her hands in her lap trembled.

"Is everything okay?"

Gracelin turned her gaze to the Doctor, expression full of shock. "I never... Before today I hadn't... I didn't know I could do that much damage." She cleared her throat, struggling to link the words together. "To anyone. Before today, I had never fought anyone outside of a controlled environment. That was something different." She took a shuddering breath and looked at the Doctor pleadingly. "I didn't mean to hurt them that badly. I didn't know I could. I'll control it better in the future."

The Time Lord sighed. She was asking for his forgiveness, his understanding, for what she had done. "I don't doubt you had every good intention. However, only you can make it alright. Maybe this isn't the life for you. If that is so, we'll drop you off in London as soon as possible.

"I guess what I'm saying is, do you really belong on the TARDIS, saving the world and running for you life every other day?" He gave a sad smile. "Think about it." He walked out of the room, leaving his newest friend considering what he said, thinking about what he knew about Gracelin.

She healed faster than most creatures in the universe. She had more strength and endurance and speed than a regular human, even one well trained and in shape. She had a natural ability for fighting even if she never fought. And there was that period of time at the track. When her eyes glowed like stars and her strength multiplied until she was able to send a Sontaran flying with a flick.

Gracelin Rosemary Celia Pacem certainly wasn't an ordinary human. The Time Lord continued walking, putting the gauze with Gracelin's blood on it in his pocket for later.

Gracelin sat on her bed, so many unspoken words whirling around in her head, the spoken ones sinking like a pit in her stomach. What the Doctor had said seemed ridiculous to her. Not belonging on the TARDIS? This is the only place she felt like she actually fit. Even when her old flatmates were still around, she had never felt this at home. NOw that she had seen the wonders of this kind of traveling, there was no turning back.

But Gracelin didn't know if she could stay. What she had done to the Sontarans still haunted her, making her want to throw up. Hurting others was so upsetting to her that she questioned why she had chosen to become so apt at it. And then she remembered ow it felt.

She remembered the feeling of being invincible, powerful enough to crush the world with a single blow. She remembered how it felt to fly through the air and know her kick would land. The wonderful feelings of the adrenaline pumping through her veins, of the fight.

Could she leave life on the TARDIS behind?

No.

Could she say here knowing she will at some point have to hurt some one again?

Barely. But there was no other place for her to go.

Gracelin looked at her bandaged arm. She remembered how the Doctor's hands had felt against her skin as they cared for her injury.

She would stay. For now.

She exited the room and walked down the hall. By now, the rest of the travelers would be planning their next grand adventure. And she wanted to be there to make sure that they didn't go anywhere boring or too dangerous. She stepped through the portal to the console room and saw the Doctor standing in his usual place at the console. He turned around and beamed at her, then went back to his tinkering. Amy and Rory were playing darts. But everyone was having the conversation Gracelin thought they would be having.

"How about Space Florida?"

"Amy, we went there only a couple of weeks ago!"

"Fine then. You think of a better place, stupid head."

"How about a nice trip to New Zealand."

"What's in New Zealand?"

"No! Doctor, don't ask that!"

"It's where they filmed all the _Lord of The Rings_ movies. It's also very scenic-"

"And very cold. How about we go some where warm?" Suggested Amy.

"The Galapagos Islands back on Earth? I heard those were very nice," said Gracelin. She had taken a seat on the steps down to the platform. The Doctor looked at her questioningly and she nodded once. He grinned.

"I know!" he exclaimed.

"Where?" asked Rory, warily.

The Doctor beamed. "How's Rio this time of year?"


End file.
